The Praxis MVP is a made-to-order ski. Our pair was made by—and for—Praxis' own Kevin O'Meara. It's a big-mountain comp ski built to play AND handle very high speeds. Two worlds collide.
The new Salomon Guardian 16 / Atomic Tracker 16 is an AT binding with excellent downhill performance. It's also good at going uphill, but there are a few tricks and quirks you should know about.
The Innsbruck restaurant at Las Leñas has some amazing desserts, but we needed to determine which one reigns supreme. After five tortas (and a perilous spike in the blood sugar levels of our dedicated reviewers), here are the results.
You don’t have to ski or board to be taken aback by the sheer magnitude and beauty of Las Leñas Ski Resort. But if you are a skier or boarder, this is a pilgrimage you simply have to make.
In addition to the 13 pairs of skis that we’ve brought to Las Leñas, we figured we might as well bring some boots, too. Here are the boots that we’ve been slinging over our shoulders and backpacks through airports and bus stations, and the boots we got on snow for the first time yesterday. First up, the 12/13 Atomic Redster Pro 130.
The Red Bull Joyride: slopestyle, dirt jump, and North Shore mountain biking all in one freeride comp—winner gets $25k, and you get some very sick pics.
The Ultimate Pump Track Challenge at Cranworx Thursday night saw a field of 32 finalists race back-to-back down a 20-second course of berms, doubles, and gaps—without making a single pedal stroke.
The Air Downhill is at the heart of Crankworx. Four hundred racers individually take to A-Line, one of Whistler Bike Park's most iconic runs, for 1,200 vertical feet of speed, berms, and jumps. Each rider gets one timed run, winner take all.
There are pro models and then there are Pro Models. The Praxis MVP is Kevin O'Meara's, and we are taking to Las Leñas the pair that Kevin literally built for himself to compete on this season. Not many skis out there appear to offer the MVP's level of playfulness, stability, and versatility.
Rounding out the events this weekend at Crankworx was Sunday's Garbanzo DH, a 7-kilometer, 3400-foot descent through some of the gnarliest terrain of the Whistler Bike Park. Masochists, right this way.
The Dual Speed and Style event debuted Saturday at Crankworx, pitting an invitational field of Dual Slalom riders and slopestyle superstars against each other head-to-head and side-by-side down tricked-out Dual Tracks.
If you're surprised to see that we're taking Fischer to Las Leñas, then you need to read this. (And if you're not surprised, then you probably already know what we are just beginning to figure out.)
So why are we taking the K2 Pettitor to Las Leñas? Because it's Sean Pettit's first pro model, that's why. Plus, six months ago in Japan, Sean very politely asked us to review the Pettitor, and we've kept him waiting. Read on for the full story.